GM: Stras Acimovic
Players: Russel Collins, Sharang Biswas, Sean Nittner
System: Project Perseus
John LL wanted to playtest Midas (the Handler) and a couple of the newer Agents with fewer missions under their belt. On a call Stras uses the tables to roll up a mission and the three of us pitched a few ideas. A couple days later, viola, a new mission was ready to go. I knew the mission parameters but in play it didn’t matter. I was just as in the moment as the other players and had a great time.
Superspies vs the Supernatural! Vampires are planning something new, and the Agency wants to know what it is. Though they may be powerful enemies, can Perseus agents and their Handler exploit their weaknesses and their tendency to overlook modern technology to keep the Agency one step ahead?
Our roster included:
- Handler: Kalina Nikolova, aka Midas. A former smuggler with a shadow network and leverage your contacts to shut down the threat of the Supernatural. (Sharang)
- Agent: The Maestro. Kidnapped by a Fey in Southeast Asia and blackmailed by the theft of their identity. They finally escaped and joined Perseus so they might one day reclaim who they are. (Russel)
- Agent: Jonas Fletcher, aka Quiver. Jonas witnessed Vampire destroy his hometown. Dismissed by the authorities, Jonas took justice into his own hands. Then Perseus gave him a chance to do it on a much bigger stage. (Sean)
Mission Brief
Jonas was sitting inside run down bánh mì shop looking out onto the rainy street for his target when he was delivered a drink from a 20-something twink waiter who looked nervous. “This is from the man in the corner” only when Fletcher looked around there was no one there. On the coaster under the drink were instructions for a mission debriefing. When the waiter looked back Fletcher was gone as well, with a good tip left behind.
The Maestro received a page with the address of a second run theater. When they arrived, and Fletcher fell in stride behiind them, a old Chinese woman told them the “Greek” show was in Theater 2. There was no Theater 1. Though the marquee listed it as Clash of the Titans, when the agents arived and the projector started playing, they saw Midas, broadcasting to them from a lear jet in the Baltics.
Welcome agents. The Syndicate has kidnapped an asset of The Cult of Ash and Bone. Her name is Valorie Smoke, a former surgeon known for macabre experimentation. We assume she had been working for the Cult to reassemble their demon lord. We had no idea why the Syndicate would want her but her absence is causing Ash and Bone to escalate their aggression and we’re concerned that it is just a matter of time before reveal supernatural powers to the people of New York.
You’re mission is to find Smoke and get her back to the Cult before they do more harm. If you can find out what she’s doing for the Syndicate that would be preferably, but as always discretion is of the utmost importance. There is a UN meeting happening in New York in three days and the last thing we need is a supernatural war in our streets.
Our one lead is a man that goes by Ledger. He’s a forensic accountant that has been known to work for the Syndicate, though it does not appear like he has any strong affinity for them, and may be a possible asset if handled well. Ledger is known to have information about the syndicate but he hasn’t been seen in three days and we think he’s hiding. His computer may have the information needed but it’s locked with an encryption key that he keeps on his person. Possible approaches include negotiating with him for the information, especially if we can offer him an out, tailing him to get access to the encryption key. Violence is…a possibility, but not a good one. As mentioned before, maintaining secrecy is vital.
The idea of rescuing a scientist from the vampires instead of putting a stake through their hearts didn’t sit well with Jonas, but he was a professional. He’d get the job done. The Maestro was confident we could get the information we needed from Ledger, and the Maestro is never wrong.
Unbeknownst to the agents, when Midas arrived, Director Fontaine was in the hanger waiting for her and told her the name of several UN members who were critical not to expose during this mission. Low profile. check!
Fire it up
Reports said Ledger did business in Brownsville and after checking with his wife (who also hadn’t heard from in a few days) we found his tail in a Chinese restaurant. Fletcher made it their first bit Ledger was not in sight. After ordering their signature shrimp dumplings (which were quite good) he snuck into the back where he was sure he’d find an underground casino, but instead found a palmistry shop. “A fortune teller?”
In the restaurant, Maestro arrived just as some young men ready to do violence did. These were Ash and Bone cultists and they would burn the place down.
As Fletcher enter the fortune teller pressed past him “I told her, only one at a time!” Past a curtain of beads he spotted Ledger who flinched at his presence. The accountant grabbed a chair to defend himself “Who sent you?”
Fletcher took in the situation. They could hear the shouts of the cultists nearby. “That chair can’t save you. But I can. Come with me you want to live.”
And the chase was on. We snuck out the back just in time for an ice cream truck driven by the same waiter from the bánh mì shop pulled. This was one of Mida’s contact and her getaway vehicle! Culstits hot on our tail, we blazed away, Fletcher keeping and unflinching eye on Ledger, but refusing to say a word.
When we got to place of safety, Midas stepped into the truck and laid out the facts. Ledger was a dead man if he didn’t work with us. If the Cult didn’t get him, the Syndicate would. He turned and we got the information we needed. The syndicate had ordered complex chemistry equipment that didn’t fit with their normal profile. Only one complication, it was all going to Vincent’s Estate, the leader of the Syndicate and the location of the UN meeting!
What Rocked
The rest of the mission included
- Quiver dressed in fetish attire that concealed his bow and arrows.
- Having in a run in with Gabriel Lioncourt and nearly getting caught (he knew my scent) if not for some powerful perfume on the third floor.
- The Maestro struggling to resist stealing a painting enchanted by the fey.
- Starting a fire to get downstairs and find Valerie Smoke.
- Using a Cold Spray to bypass the heat sensors, but almost sabotaging the mission by forcing Midas to Hack the Planet and disable the alarms so the human test subjects could be freed as well.
- Fleeing from Gabriel when he caught Fletcher’s scent. As he held Fletcher a foot off the ground by this throat and asked “Why do you humans try to run” Fletchers answer came in the form of an ex-military sniper that put three shots in Gabriel. One in the head, one in the heart, and one in the groin. “That’s why.” Another of Midas’ contacts saved the day!
